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Arsenal are keen on Mykhaylo Mudryk and Mikel Arteta seemingly believes that he can turn the winger into more of a central player in North London.
You can expect to hear many Mudryk claims and rumours ahead of and during the January transfer window.
Any time a rapid winger bags 10 goals and eight assists in 18 games, they’re going to attract major interest.
That’s the reality for Mudryk right now and the strongest suitor appears to be Arsenal.
The Gunners looked into signing Mudryk back in August but didn’t pull the trigger on a deal.
Oh how they may now wish they had signed Mudryk back then.
The Shakhtar star has seen his value absolutely explode this season having dazzled in the Champions League.
The Mirror now claim that Arsenal have a rough agreement to sign Mudryk for £40million, but we think Shakhtar will actually be holding out for much more.
Hailed as an ‘incredible dribbler’ over in Ukraine, Mudryk is known as a blazing winger on the left side.
Yet if Mudryk does end up joining Arsenal, he may find himself playing in a slightly different role.
CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs has told Give Me Sport that Arteta thinks Mudryk can become even more versatile with a move to Arsenal.
Arteta believes that Mudryk could pose a threat away from the flanks, where his ‘lightning quick’ style causes enough problems as it is.
It’s unclear whether this means as a number 10 or as a striker, but we would guess the former.
Transfermarkt suggest that Mudryk has only played as a number 10 once in his career but Arteta may believe that he can get more out of the Ukrainian sensation there.
“Arteta feels that he can be developed into a more versatile player,” said Jacobs. “At the moment he’s lightning quick, he’s got a good eye for goal, he weighs in with assists, he makes the pitch as big as possible, he starts on the left-hand side and he cuts in. I think Mikel Arteta thinks that he can spend more time during games in central areas and, even under select game management situations, switch sides as well.”
“As he adds those strings to his bow, he could live up to his reputation as one of the best players in that position. So, it’s one to watch from Arsenal’s point of view,” he added.
In other news, ‘I was in Germany’: Liverpool told latest transfer update about Jude Bellingham